After Intense Heat, Monsoons Add Torment of High Humidity for Indian Prisoners

The year 2024 has been torrid in India, even by the standards of the subcontinent and the steady effects of climate change.

The country has recorded an unprecedented number of 40,000 suspected cases of heatstroke with over 100 deaths between March 1 to June 18 as per statistics recorded by the National Centre for Disease Control, under India’s Union health ministry.

Many parts of North and West India have been crippled by severe and intense heatwaves, peaking at nearly 50 degree Celsius.

As per the Indian Metrological Department (IMD), heatwaves are periods of unusually high temperature compared to what is normally expected over a region. A heatwave is defined as a departure of 4.5 degree Celsius or more from a place’s ‘normal’ (based on historical records) temperature for two consecutive days. The criteria must be met in at least two stations in a meteorological sub-division. A heatwave is declared on the second consecutive day.

As per an analysis of the temperature trends for India from January 2015 to May 2022 by Delhi-based environmental think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), heatstrokes are the second most deadly force of nature in India. They have killed over 20,615 people in just two decades from 2000 to 2020.

The country has recorded an unprecedented number of 40,000 suspected cases of heatstroke with over 100 deaths between March 1 to June 18 as per statistics recorded by the National Centre for Disease Control, under India’s Union health ministry.

The National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) records accidental deaths, including those from climatic stress, in its annual Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India. As per an analysis of the report by CSE, between 2015 and 2020, 2,137 people had reportedly died due to excess environmental heat.

Another crucial aspect of the report is that dry heatwaves, as are being experienced currently, are less hazardous compared to humid heatwaves which could be experienced at the onset of monsoon. As per the analysis, high humidity can exponentially increase the public health risk posed by hot air temperatures. It even affects fit people acclimatised to work outside because it makes it difficult for the body to regulate temperature.

It should be noted that the IMD does not account for the impact of relative humidity while computing heatwave conditions.

The Leaflet spoke to Avikal Somvanshi, head of the Urban lab at CSE, which carried out the analysis. Somvanshi highlighted the “significant impact” of heat on indoor temperatures.

Explaining his statement, he said that traditionally, buildings had thicker walls and were made of mud and stones, which meant that they could absorb more heat. Less heat was transferred indoors. In places where the temperature dropped at night, the absorbed heat would dissipate.

Somvanshi added that the walls of buildings have become thin now and they are not even capable of storing heat for a day. He added that in places such as Delhi, the indoor temperature in the evening is probably much higher than the outdoor temperature.

Indoor temperatures become more dangerous in such conditions, especially when accompanied with a lack of proper ventilation.

Importantly, the CSE analysis states that there is a strong possibility that most of the deaths due to heat stress go unreported as such deaths may officially be attributed to other comorbidities.

As public health expert Dileep Mavalankar has explained, “The first step is to analyse temperature and related it to the all-cause mortality data.” In other words, to have a better estimate of deaths due to heat waves, it is important to see if there has been a significant bump in the number of deaths during a heatwave and then analyse whether heat stress could be a factor in some of those deaths, even if the official cause of death is recorded as something else.

Prison conditions in India

It has been factually and statistically proven that Indian jails are cramped and notorious for the lack of hygienic facilities.

It should be noted that the IMD does not account for the impact of relative humidity while computing heatwave conditions.

As per the 2022 Prison Statistics India, as of December 31, 2022, the number of prisons in India was 1,330, with a total capacity of 436,266 prisoners as against 573, 220 prisoners who were accommodated in them at that time.

Annual data is furnished by the prison departments of all 36 states and Union territories and published by the NCRB. The data reveals that a majority of the prisoners are undertrials. Of the 573,220 prisoners, as of 2022, 434,302 (75.8 percent) are undertrial prisoners. The number of convicted prisoners is only 133,415.

This corroborates the 2020 report of the NCRB which recorded that three in four prisoners (approximately 76 percent) in India are undertrial. This is the largest number of undertrial prisoners in India since at least 1995.

Earlier NCRB reports have shed light on the social inequalities of the prisoners. The reports state that the majority of undertrials in India are from the marginalised communities such as Dalits, Adivasis, Scheduled Castes and Muslims. However, since 2016, NCRB has skipped publishing the caste and religion of inmates.

Another set of data that paints an extremely grim picture is the number of undertrial prisoners under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA).

As per data revealed by the Union minister of state for home affairs, a total of 5,027 cases were registered under UAPA, in which 24,134 people were accused from 2016 to 2020. Only 212 out of the 24,134 have been convicted while 386 have been acquitted. The rest (97.5 percent) remain as undertrial prisoners.

Although Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 states that undertrial prisoners could be released on bail if they have been incarcerated for half of the maximum sentence prescribed for an offence (not for an offence for which the punishment is death penalty), the provision does not apply to special laws such as the UAPA.

The responsibility of the prison system

“Prisons, reformatories, borstal institutions and other institutions of a like nature, and persons detained therein; arrangements with other states for the use of prisons and other institutions” is Item 4 in the State List of the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution, making it a state subject.

This means the responsibility of prison and prisoner management vests solely with state governments.

Prisons are managed as per the Model Prison Manual, 2016. The manual contains provisions for meeting the basic needs of prisoners, such as adequate diet, health, medical care and treatment, and access to clean and adequate drinking water, clean and hygienic conditions of living accommodation, sanitation and personal hygiene, adequate clothing, bedding and other equipment.

In prisons, ventilation is regulated by the jail authorities. The manual prescribes that lateral ventilation must be provided in the barracks housing the prisoners.

Somvanshi added that the walls of buildings have become thin now and they are not even capable of storing heat for a day.

In Sunil Batra versus Delhi Administration (1979), the Supreme Court issued extensive directions on prison reforms, one of which: “We have made it clear that no prisoner can be personally subjected to deprivations not necessitated by the fact of incarceration and the sentence of the court. All other freedoms belong to him; to read and write, to exercise and recreation, to meditation and chant, to creative comforts like protection from extreme cold and heat.”

The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules) Rule 13 states: “All accommodation provided for the use of prisoners and in particular all sleeping accommodation shall meet all requirements of health, due regard being paid to climatic conditions and particularly to cubic content of air, minimum floor space, lighting, heating and ventilation.”

Story of common prisoners versus not-so common prisoners

The oppressive summer this year has been particularly brutal for prisoners.

In Tihar jail in Delhi, one of the better-maintained prisons in India, several prisoners have suffered heatstrokes, including one female prisoner who died as a result.

The Leaflet spoke to the family members of some undertrial Kashmiri prisoners lodged in Tihar since 2018 under the UAPA.

A son of a Kashmiri undertrial woman prisoner told The Leaflet that his 62-year-old mother is suffering from asthma, arthritis and respiratory ailments. Since she has bronchospasm, she is dependent on oxygen support.

Due to her medical condition, she filed individual applications before the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court and jail superintendent, requesting a cooler. However, each time her request was either denied or ignored.

Upon being asked whether the prisoners have access to adequate cold drinking water, he told The Leaflet that sometimes even potable water at normal temperature is inaccessible. He added that high-voltage bulbs are kept on all day long, emitting heat, and making indoor temperatures unbearable.

To beat the heat, many prisoners use wet towels that they put over their heads or they sleep on wet bedsheets, the son told The Leaflet.

The son added that this year has been worse for his mother because the heat has caused the oxygen mask to peel off her skin.

This corroborates the 2020 report of the NCRB which recorded that three in four prisoners (approximately 76 percent) in India are undertrial. This is the largest number of undertrial prisoners in India since at least 1995.

The son of another Kashmiri undertrial, also lodged in Tihar jail, told The Leaflet that his mother has chronic acute back pain caused by L3-L4 and L4-05 lumbar disc prolapse. Despite the excruciating pain that she suffers from, jail authorities have denied her a proper bed and medical mattresses. She is forced to sleep on the bare floor, his son claimed.

He further told The Leaflet that his mother also suffers from osteoarthritic degenerative knee disease which limits her mobility and her ability to sit or stand for a lengthy period of time. Because of the comorbidities, the heat has exacerbated her overall health condition.

He said that his mother has continuously raised concerns about recurrent urinary tract infection caused due to the lack of sanitation and hygiene in prison toilets.

Women prisoners suffer relatively more than male prisoners due to a lack of menstrual hygiene in Indian prisons.

A study jointly conducted last year by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, a Delhi-based international non-governmental organisations that works on human rights, notably on prison and police reform, and Boondh, a social enterprise that works on menstrual literacy and policy, found that Indian prisons have no menstrual health management.

The study relied on the NCRB’s 2021 Prison Statistics which reported that a majority of female prisoners are in the age group of 30–50 years (50.7 percent) or 18–30 years (29.4 percent). The report reveals that approximately 80 percent of women in prisons are in menstruating age group.

The son of the second Kashmiri prisoner lodged at Tihar told The Leaflet, “The barrack is dimly lit with little or no ventilation. The only source of cooling in the barrack is a fan that is placed so high that it convects hot air from the ceiling. The hot air blowing from the fan is nauseating and has resulted in persistent headaches. The water tanks are placed on a slab in direct sunlight making the water nearly boil.”

Both testimonies also reveal that the building containing booths for mulaqaats (family meetings with prisoners) is located at a distance from the barracks and the meeting is usually scheduled around noon time when the temperature is soaring. Most prisoners are likely to avoid going to the booths at this time, even if that means the families do not get to see the prisoners for a considerable length of time.

In prisons, ventilation is regulated by the jail authorities. The manual prescribes that lateral ventilation must be provided in the barracks housing the prisoners.

A niece of another prisoner lodged in the same jail told The Leaflet that her aunt is hardly able to take a bath in this season because the water is unusually hot.

The jail authorities sometimes allow inmates to have access to cold water in the morning for 30 minutes so that they can fill their nuggets and use it throughout the day. But that is hardly useful since the water quickly turns hot, she asserted.

She added that her aunt is bedridden and has degenerative spinal disc issues and because of her restricted mobility, she suffers from severe skin issues, especially on her back; and she has rashes all over her body. She is wheelchair-bound and cannot go to the washroom unassisted. Despite her medical condition, there is no relief provided to her by jail authorities, she claimed.

The story of Tihar is repeated ad nauseam in other jails in the hotter states of India.

In this context, the Order of the Delhi court allowing conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar to have access to a desert cooler on medical grounds as he claims to have developed a skin infection due to the high temperature becomes interesting.

Chandrasekhar is lodged in Tihar on allegations that he was the main culprit of a ₹200 crore case of money laundering, cheating and extortion. The court, while passing the Order, acknowledged that the drafters of the Delhi Prison Rules, 2018 had not contemplated a situation where prisoners would need access to desert coolers at the time of framing the rules.

This is despite the the fact that temperatures in the mid-and high 40-degree Celsius range are common during summers in Delhi.

The medical health of prisoners is the responsibility of State as per Rule 24 of the Mandela Rules and it must be provided with the same standard as provided to anyone in the society and it should be free of cost to prisoners. However, political prisoners in India are treated with even greater hostility than other prisoners within the abysmal larger jail conditions.

In many of the instances in the Bhima Koregaon case alone, the accused undertrial prisoners have been denied adequate medical facilities, forcing the court to intervene. 

For instance, Father Stan Swamy, accused in the 2018 Bhima-Koregaon Elgar Parishad was refused a sipper and straw by the jail authorities despite the fact that he suffered from Parkison’s disease, had lost hearing in both ears and had tested positive for Covid. He was arrested in 2020 and lodged in Taloja jail. He passed away in 2021 awaiting medical bail.

Dr G.N. Saibaba was arrested under the UAPA in 2014 and acquitted recently by the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court.

Despite suffering from multiple diseases and 90 physical disability, which makes him wheelchair bound, Saibaba was allegedly refused a plastic water bottle to drink water as he could not reach the water pot kept in jail due to his disability.

In many of the instances in the Bhima Koregaon case alone, the accused undertrial prisoners have been denied adequate medical facilities, forcing the court to intervene. 

Prashant Rahi, a freelance journalist and activist, was recently acquitted along with Saibaba. Rahi had been lodged in Amravati Central Jail since 2014. Before that, he spent more than a decade under the UAPA in various jails.

The Leaflet spoke to him about the situation in Amravati jail in terms of the intensity of heat faced by the prisoners. He said that the temperature goes up to around 47 degrees Celsuis during summers and the prisoners mostly have no access to cold water.

Rahi said: “Of course, rich prisoners could buy cold water available in cans. Unfortunately, Muslim prisoners had to resort to buying water in this manner during Ramzan.”

He said that there is no possibility of having access to desert coolers in Amravati jail. Fans are available, but they are attached to the high ceiling and one cannot feel their breeze.

Pragya from People’s Union for Civil Liberties told The Leaflet that the situation in Rajasthan is so severe that even jail authorities have acknowledged that prisoners are in dire need of desert coolers.

She added that in Jaipur prison, groundwater cannot be used for drinking. So they have to import water tankers from outside, which ultimately leads to rationing of water.

Pragya said: “The water is rationed to limit how much each person will get since there is water scarcity.”

She added that the situation is worse in Ajmer jail because the water is kept in earthen pots and since the caste system is robustly practiced in jails, marginalised-caste prisoners could be beaten for touching the water. This has been confirmed by at least two prisoners lodged in Ajmer jail.

What do the prison authorities have to say?

The Leaflet spoke to the former legal advisor to Tihar jail, Sunil Gupta.

He told us that Tihar jail continues to struggle with providing access to clean drinking water and maintaining hygiene. Because of this, in summer, prisoners develop skin diseases and the situation becomes worse for prisoners who are already suffering from some other disease.

This corroborates the 2020 report of the NCRB which recorded that three in four prisoners (approximately 76 percent) in India are undertrial. This is the largest number of undertrial prisoners in India since at least 1995.

Sharing his experience in Tihar, Gupta told us that in 2012, around 10 prisoners died due to heatstroke. To ameliorate the condition, potable water tankers were imported from outside to make sure prisoners had access to enough drinking water.

Gupta said that in the summer of 2014, prisoners were provided with lemon water to keep them hydrated.

Speaking about the current situation, he said that conditions in Tihar jail are not conducive to dealing with acute heat. As compared to this, prisoners in Mandoli jail may be relatively in better condition since the jail became operational in 2016 and has a central air circulation system.

Conclusion

As the onset of monsoons brings with it a deadly combination of intense heat and high humidity, prison conditions are likely to deteriorate. In such conditions, an adequate supply of drinking water in jails across India is a must. Prisoners should also be provided with lemon water to keep them hydrated.

This is the least that the jail authorities could do, especially for prisoners who suffer from medical issues.

As the onset of monsoons brings with it a deadly combination of intense heat and high humidity, prison conditions are likely to deteriorate.

In a country where courts are overburdened, undertrials are incarcerated for long periods and treated as badly as, if not worse than, convicts, and all prisoners are seen as lesser beings not deserving of humane treatment, every season brings a new cycle of despair and torment.

What will it take for the authorities and the citizenry of this country to empathise with the incarcerated as they spend restless days and sleepless nights tossing and turning in their sauna-like barracks?

Gursimran Kaur Bakshi is a staff writer at The Leaflet